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Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia

The rise of the Gig Economy has created new concerns about inequality in rapidly digitising Asian economies. Whilst the emergence of the “on-demand economy” creates new opportunities for the youths and low-income groups, this has also created new policy challenges. As many use unofficial digital pla...

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Main Authors: Uchiyama, Yosuke, Furuoka, Fumitaka, Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin
Format: Article
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022
Subjects:
HD Industries. Land use. Labor
HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/44013/
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85148370932&doi=10.17576%2fJEM-2022-5603-09&partnerID=40&md5=06a01e4ec10d41ba48eb039e58d94bfb
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spelling my.um.eprints.440132023-12-06T06:59:02Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/44013/ Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia Uchiyama, Yosuke Furuoka, Fumitaka Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin HD Industries. Land use. Labor HD28 Management. Industrial Management The rise of the Gig Economy has created new concerns about inequality in rapidly digitising Asian economies. Whilst the emergence of the “on-demand economy” creates new opportunities for the youths and low-income groups, this has also created new policy challenges. As many use unofficial digital platforms and/or operate as unregistered self-run businesses, they remain outside the social protection system, leaving them especially vulnerable during times of crisis. This study therefore aims to provide new insights into this issue - social protection for gig workers – drawing upon the Malaysian experience. Using primary data collected through semi-structured interviews, we examine the working conditions of e-hailing drivers and online food delivery riders, two of the largest mainstream on-demand app-based gig workers’ groups in the country. The collected data were examined based on thematic analysis employing 15 subtopics and 3 main themes: (i) performance-based short-term decent work; (ii) platform and customer-centricity operations, and (iii) ecosystem for gig worker sustainability. From the perspective of gig workers, the study narrates their actual working conditions and perceived inequalities. Based on the findings, we conclude by critically reflecting on the potential for developing a worker-centred policy for social protection in the Gig Economy in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia. © 2022 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022 Article PeerReviewed Uchiyama, Yosuke and Furuoka, Fumitaka and Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin (2022) Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia. Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 56 (3). 165 -184. ISSN 0127-1962, DOI https://doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2022-5603-09 <https://doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2022-5603-09>. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85148370932&doi=10.17576%2fJEM-2022-5603-09&partnerID=40&md5=06a01e4ec10d41ba48eb039e58d94bfb 10.17576/JEM-2022-5603-09
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic HD Industries. Land use. Labor
HD28 Management. Industrial Management
spellingShingle HD Industries. Land use. Labor
HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Uchiyama, Yosuke
Furuoka, Fumitaka
Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin
Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
description The rise of the Gig Economy has created new concerns about inequality in rapidly digitising Asian economies. Whilst the emergence of the “on-demand economy” creates new opportunities for the youths and low-income groups, this has also created new policy challenges. As many use unofficial digital platforms and/or operate as unregistered self-run businesses, they remain outside the social protection system, leaving them especially vulnerable during times of crisis. This study therefore aims to provide new insights into this issue - social protection for gig workers – drawing upon the Malaysian experience. Using primary data collected through semi-structured interviews, we examine the working conditions of e-hailing drivers and online food delivery riders, two of the largest mainstream on-demand app-based gig workers’ groups in the country. The collected data were examined based on thematic analysis employing 15 subtopics and 3 main themes: (i) performance-based short-term decent work; (ii) platform and customer-centricity operations, and (iii) ecosystem for gig worker sustainability. From the perspective of gig workers, the study narrates their actual working conditions and perceived inequalities. Based on the findings, we conclude by critically reflecting on the potential for developing a worker-centred policy for social protection in the Gig Economy in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia. © 2022 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.
format Article
author Uchiyama, Yosuke
Furuoka, Fumitaka
Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin
author_facet Uchiyama, Yosuke
Furuoka, Fumitaka
Md Akhir, Md Nasrudin
author_sort Uchiyama, Yosuke
title Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
title_short Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
title_full Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
title_fullStr Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from Malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada Malaysia
title_sort gig workers, social protection and labour market inequality: lessons from malaysia; pekerja gig, perlindungan sosial dan ketidaksamaan pasaran buruh: pengajaran daripada malaysia
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2022
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/44013/
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85148370932&doi=10.17576%2fJEM-2022-5603-09&partnerID=40&md5=06a01e4ec10d41ba48eb039e58d94bfb
_version_ 1784586082818457600
score 13.211869

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